1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in product packaging, and particularly to advantageous aspects of product packaging having a non-thermoformed blister-like compartment and methods for making same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the product packaging industry, there is continuing interest in creating packaging that, on the one hand, is useful and visually appealing but that, on the other hand, does not unduly add to the manufacturing costs of the product being sold. One popular type of packaging that is commonly used to package lower-end products is the blister package. In a blister package, a sheet of plastic is thermoformed (i.e., heated and stretched) into a xe2x80x9cblisterxe2x80x9d that is shaped to receive a retail item. The blister typically includes a flange at the outer perimeter of its base that is used to adhere the blister to the front surface of a xe2x80x9ccard,xe2x80x9d which is a flat sheet of cardboard or plastic that serves as a backing for the package.
Blisters are typically manufactured automatically in bulk using a thermoforming machine that is fed by a bulk roll of plastic. After the blisters have been manufactured, they are then transferred into a loading and sealing machine, in which each blister is loaded with a retail product and then heat-sealed to a card. Blisters are commonly manufactured at a facility that is different from the manufacturing facility used to load and seal the finished package. Where this is the case, the thermoformed blisters must be transported to the loading and sealing facility and stored for future use.
Blister packaging is selected to package a particular item for a number of reasons. First, blister packaging is relatively inexpensive. A basic blister package requires only two pieces of material, the thermoformed blister and a card. In addition, a blister package can be loaded and sealed in a high-speed automatic or semi-automatic manufacturing process that minimizes labor costs. Also, because a blister is typically fabricated from a transparent plastic, the retail item inside the package is plainly visible to retailers and their customers. Further, blister packaging provides a security function. Because blister packaging is heat-sealed, a retail customer typically may not remove the retail item from the packaging without visibly damaging the packaging.
However, there are a number of disadvantages associated with blister packaging. One disadvantage is that blister packaging tends to have an unattractive appearance that can be associated in the buying public""s mind with a lower-end product. Thus, blister packaging may be undesirable where a manufacturer desires a more upscale image for a particular product. A second disadvantage of blister packaging is that once a blister has been thermoformed, it becomes relatively bulky. The added bulk increases the amount of space required for transportation and storage of thermoformed blisters prior to the time that they are assembled into finished packages.
Further, once the blister has been formed, care must be taken to insure that the blisters do not xe2x80x9cnest,xe2x80x9d i.e., stick together as they are being fed into the loading and sealing machine. One solution to the nesting problem is to thermoform de-nesting lugs into the blister, which serve to create a gap between adjacent blisters in a stack. However, the de-nesting lugs may detract from the esthetic appearance of the blister. Further, the de-nesting lugs significantly further increase the bulk of a stack of blisters, thus resulting in a further increased need for space in transporting and storing the thermoformed blisters.
Another disadvantage of thermoformed blisters is that they do not lend themselves well to decoration. Although many printing, coating and other types of techniques have been developed over the years for applying a design or text to the surface of a plastic, these techniques are limited in application to a thermoformed blister for a number of reasons. First, thermoforming machines run at their highest efficiency using roll-fed stock. As a practical matter, this eliminates high quality sheet-fed lithographic printing techniques, in which single sheets of plastic are used rather than a bulk roll. Attempts have been made to use roll-fed lithographic and flexographic printing techniques to apply designs to rolls of plastic stock prior to thermoforming, but these have proven to be generally unsatisfactory because of the inability to consistently control the amount of plastic distortion during thermoforming and because of the limited flexibility of the inks used.
Thus, the decoration of blisters has typically been limited to processes that are performed after the blister has been thermoformed, utilizing such techniques as tampo printing, silkscreen, or hot stamping technology. However, because the blister is now a three-dimensional object rather than a two-dimensional sheet, these techniques have proven to be expensive, slow, and limited in their ability to produce high quality multicolor images. Thus, these techniques are usually performed as a one up part in conjunction with thermoforming. Where attempts have been made to print directly onto a thermoformed blister, the printing is typically limited to a blister having a flat front panel, and the printing may only be applied to that panel. No practical techniques have yet been developed for printing directly onto the side panels of a thermoformed blister.
A common technique that is used to decorate a blister package is to use a printed label that is affixed to the blister, or a printed insert that is visible through the blister. The results obtained using labels and inserts are typically not particularly esthetic. Labels have a xe2x80x9cstick-onxe2x80x9d appearance, and inserts generally xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d behind a blister panel. In addition, labels and inserts entail additional manufacturing costs for materials and printing, and require the manufacturer to acquire and maintain inventory and application equipment over and above that needed for functionality.
A further drawback of blister packages is that they do not lend themselves particularly well to automated die cutting in those situations in which it is desired to provide openings or cutout sections in the finished blister. Because of the unpredictable distortions caused by the thermoforming process, it is not practical to make the cuts prior to thermoforming. However, die cutting an internal opening in a thermoformed blister is typically an awkward and troublesome process that requires specialized off-line tooling and equipment because of the blister""s three-dimensional shape. Internal die cutting and stripping are usually done with an expensive two-level die cutting machine or a punch and die set. Using a cutting machine to make a cutout or opening in a side panel of a thermoformed blister has proven to be especially difficult. In addition, in order to indicate the area to be die cut, a thermoformed blister often contains a guide rail, which tends to complicate and distort the face panel, detracting from the esthetic appearance of the finished package.
These and other issues raised by the prior art are addressed by the present invention, aspects of which provide a package in which an item is enclosed in a non-thermoformed blister-like compartment and methods for making the package. A blank is cut out of the sheet of plastic, the blank having a plurality of panels and flange sections such that the blank can be folded into a blister-like compartment having a flange at its base. The sheet of plastic from which the blank is cut may be printed on, coated, and/or decorated. The blank may also have cutout sections or perforations. The blank is then folded, without thermoforming, into a blister-like compartment and loaded with the item to be packaged. One way to seal the package is to affix a backing to the flange at the base of the blister-like compartment.